Friday, March 24, 2017

Salt and Sanctuary Vita launches ON MARCH 28th!!!

Feels like it's been a very, very long time coming. In fact, it's been just over a year - but mad, mad, MAD props to Ska Studios (and Sickhead Games, who handled the port) for sticking with it. Ska Studios were teasing the announcement for the past few days, with a few pictures of progressively-less pixellated Vitas on their Twitter feed.

They said, last year, that they were shooting for Q1 of 2017, and I'll be honest - I didn't think they'd make it. I mean, it's the fucking twenty-fourth of March - time is pretty much up - but here we are.

You'll be able to play what is seriously the best riff on the Souls formula (taking into account the unfortunate Lords of the Fallen and the not-quite-there Nioh) on the best darned handheld gaming platform in FOUR DAYS!

Honestly, Salt and Sanctuary is ridiculously good. #5 on my list of best games of 2016, just behind the incredible DOOM, the incredible Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, Game of the Year Overwatch and other Game of the Year Darkest Dungeon.

And I quote,

"As phenomenal and beautiful and pretty-darned-perfect as Dark Souls III is, though, it’s not new. Enter Salt and Sanctuary from indie dev Ska Studios (Charlie Murder, The Dishwasher), who’ve taken the core combat feel of Dark Souls (the stamina bar, a slew of impeccably balanced weapons and absolutely vicious enemies), and squeezed it into two dimensions.

The game has the structure of a Metroidvania (delicious!), with all that satisfying exploration and platforming, but combining that with all the core pleasures of Souls turns both of those familiar joys into something that’s so damned gratifying it’s almost shocking. I wanted Salt to be awesome. I had no idea it would or could be this awesome. For Ska to nail open-world design, Metroidvania design, 2D platforming and the supremely satisfying feel of Souls combat is… well, it’s ridiculous – but here we are."

CHANCE...

...is actually named David.

This is where I write about video games. Beyond the simple pleasure of it, I hope to use this place as a bit of a mental gym to re-develop my writing style - something I seem to have misplaced around the turn of the century.

It will also serve as a personal blog, but for the most part if you enjoy discussion of gaming news, independent reviews and pointless musings, you have come to precisely the right place.

It's my custom to do at least one post per day - but whether it ends up being ten posts of breaking news and a review, or one post complaining about how I have a tummy ache is not set in stone.